The present invention generally relates to a three dimensional camouflage garment to be worn by hunters and the like and, in particular, to a three dimensional garment formed by two different three dimensional materials.
Three dimensional fabrics are very popular in the construction of camouflage hunting garments. Three dimensional fabrics are generally defined in the hunting industry as fabrics that have been altered in a variety of manners to create more depth than traditional flat fabrics used in hunting clothing. Examples of three dimensional fabrics are Milliken""s INTRIGUE fabric, SHADOWTEX fabric, and GHILLIE SUIT fabric. Many types of three dimensional fabrics exist today. Common techniques used to alter a flat fabric into a three dimensional fabric almost always involves either fraying, rippling, or permanently gathering the flat fabric. Alternatively, additional pieces of fabric may be attached to a base fabric to give the resulting product a thickness dimension above what a traditional woven or knit fabric would give. The resulting three-dimensional appearance is considered as having different light reflectance property when viewed in the field, thus creating a better camouflage effect for the user while hunting.
Three dimensional fabrics, while popular for their camouflaging effect, also promote problems for the user. Hunting activities, both firearm and archery forms alike, involve the use of many tools that hang around the neck of the user and also call for stealth and quietness as the hunter prepares for a shot or uses his tools. Altered flat fabrics or three-dimensional fabrics with their frayed edges, gathered stitches, and extra attached fabrics often create a hindrance while hunting. Shooting bows, using binoculars, shouldering guns, reaching smoothly for an attracter-type call, or moving quietly against the bark of a tree or through the woods is difficult with garments made in traditional three dimensional garment construction techniques.
New advances in three-dimensional camouflage garment concepts have resulted in garments that attempt to alleviate these problems through garment construction techniques that utilize flat fabrics in key panels or positions within the garment. U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,835 to Weber et al. illustrates a multi-dimensional camouflage garment that has an external surface, a first portion of the external surface being formed of a three dimensional material and a second portion of the external surface being formed of a two dimensional material. Other garments formed from three dimensional materials are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,065 to Yacovella, U.S. Pat. No. 5,773,101 to Sanders, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,863 to Slagle.
While these garments types alleviate at least some of the problems mentioned previously, they vacate the original purpose of the three-dimensional concept and therefore fall short of giving the user the full three-dimensional camouflage effect.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional camouflage garment that avoids the problems mentioned previously.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional camouflage garment which gives the user a full three-dimensional effect.
The foregoing objects are achieved by the camouflage garment of the present invention.
In accordance with the present invention, a camouflage garment is provided which utilizes different heights of three-dimensional materials in strategic panels or points to alleviate the problems mentioned above while still giving the user the full benefit of an all-inclusive three-dimensional camouflage fabric garment. The camouflage garment broadly comprises a first portion formed from a first three dimensional material having a first texture height and a second portion formed a second three dimensional material having a second texture height different from the first texture height. The camouflage garment may be a jacket, a pair of pants, or any other type of camouflage garment.
Other details of the camouflage garment of the present invention, as well as other objects and advantages attendant thereto, are set forth in the following description and the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals depict like elements.